VISAKHAPATNAM: Two powerlifters from Visakhapatnam made the country proud as they won four gold medals each during the Commonwealth Powerlifting and Bench Press Championship held in New Zealand from November 28 to December 4.
M Durga Prasad, a final year BA student, and B Anil Kumar, a first-year MBA student, won gold in bench press, squat, deadlift and overall championship in the 93 kg and 83 kg categories, respectively. Both the champions’ journeys may be different, but the feeling of joy they felt while representing their country on a foreign land and acing at it was the same.
Hailing from a farmer’s family, Anil never dreamt of becoming a powerlifter until his college lecturer encouraged him. Summing up his journey, Anil said, “The last four years have been really difficult in terms of training and recovering from injuries. I did not realise that winning the medals in New Zealand was a great feat until I returned home and was welcomed by overwhelming appreciation and encouragement.”
In 2019, Anil had injured his wrists during training and was on bed rest for three months.Speaking about his international win, he said, “I have won several medals at the national level, but nothing matches the feeling of representing the country and winning medals on a foreign land.”
South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, North America, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Canada, England, Scotland, and Sri Lanka were among the other countries that took part in the powerlifting championship.
In the case of Durga Prasad, he watched his uncle powerlift and always wanted to try his luck at it. He started training at the age of 16.
“The weight of the bars seem nothing when compared to the happiness of representing my country amongst a number of foreign countries. I always wanted to succeed in the sport, but never expected it to be this big. We fail a lot of times in this journey, but that should not stop or create a negative impact on our willpower,” Prasad said and added, “To excel in powerlifting, one must have the zeal and patience. It is not something that can be achieved over night. It comes with practise, patience, and a proper diet. Frequent injuries should not discourage one from quitting in between.”
“I come from a marginalised background. A single training kit costs nearly `2 lakh. Spending lakhs of rupees to compete in such competitions is a burden for me and my family. Gaining international recognition brings happiness, but it should not be at the expense of incurring debt,” Anil rued.
Both Anil and Prasad aim to take part in the World Junior Powerlifting Championships scheduled to be held next year.In recognition of their achievements, Dr Lankapalli Bullayya College is supporting the two powerlifters by providing them with free education until they complete their post-graduation.